MELBOURNE, Australia – After a monthlong pre-trial hearing, an Australian judge ordered Cardinal George Pell to stand trial on multiple charges of sexual abuse of minors, charges the cardinal consistently has denied.

VATICAN – In its efforts to help advise the Pope, the Roman Curia, bishops' conferences and local churches on protecting minors from abuse, a Vatican commission listened to abuse survivors from Great Britain and discussed the results of Australia's public inquiry into its country's institutional responses to abuse.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Alleged victims of abuse of Cardinal George Pell gave testimonies this week during a hearing in an Australian court which will determine if he will face a trial.

VATICAN – Pope Francis has named nine new members to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, including abuse survivors or the parents of survivors, the Vatican said.

Few dossiers that cross the Pope’s desk are more challenging than the thick, sad file on sexual abuse. It’s a file Pope Francis inherited from his two predecessors and one he pledged to handle with urgency, compassion and transparency.

VATICAN – In a conversation with Jesuits during his recent visit to Peru, Pope Francis said he regularly meets with victims of sexual abuse on Fridays, and that while the percentage of priests who abuse is relatively low, even one is too many.

ROME – Even though the Catholic Church has all the necessary norms and laws in place to safeguard minors from abuse by clergy, the problem continues to be a lack in understanding or caring about those rules and guidelines and applying them effectively, said one Jesuit expert.

VATICAN CITY – Acknowledging how often the Catholic Church failed to protect children from sexual abuse, Pope Francis pledged "to work strenuously and with foresight for the protection of minors and their dignity," including online.

CORNWALL, Ontario – Canada's bishops are finalizing new policies to better protect minors against sex abuse.